1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to knockdown furniture and, more particularly, to improvements in the assembly and storage thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Knockdown furniture articles such as chairs are well known in the art. Indeed, various constructions have been proposed to form a chair from elongated tubular members which are joined together by coupling devices such as elbows and T's to form the frame of the chair, with one or more canvas panels having end sleeves being engaged to the frame to provide a seat and a back rest. When dismantled, the knockdown furniture constitutes a large number of separate parts which are cumbersome to carry and to store. Some solutions have been proposed to regroup those loose parts in a single container in view of overcoming the above problem.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 2,742,956, issued on Apr. 24, 1956 to Cannata, discloses a knockdown chair including a series of tubular members of different diameters which form the frame of the chair. A hollow head is provided at the top end of the largest tubular member through which the remaining tubular members can be slidably inserted one inside the other. The flexible seat and back rest are rolled and disposed within the smallest tubular member. The fittings, which include elbows and T's, and the mounting pins therefor are placed in bulk in the hollow head. A closure is threadably engaged at the top of the hollow head to close the formed container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,436, issued on Nov. 15, 1988 to Sutherland, discloses a knockdown chair and a cylindrical bag for storing the dismantled chair. The cylindrical bag has no function when the chair is in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,564,915, issued on Aug. 21, 1951 to Nelson discloses various couplings for joining telescoping male and female portions of the tubular members which form the knockdown chair. Proposed are spring mounted pins and balls which are adapted to engage registered bores. Friction rings are also disclosed.